Playground apparatuses of the teeter-totter or seesaw type have become quite popular for children in recreational areas including public parks, nursery or day schools, back yards, etc. These apparatuses are generally of the type utilizing a central support, a plurality of spaced-apart rocker arms containing a rider supporting unit or seat on the outer end thereof and being connected together and to the support at the inner ends thereof. The apparatuses may include some sort of biasing means for biasing the rocker arms thereof in an upward direction.
One of the more popular of these teeter-totter or seesaw type playground apparatuses is marketed by Game-Time Inc. of Hillsdale, Michigan under the name "BUCK-A-BOUTS" and is purportedly constructed in accordance with their Ahrens U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,140, issued Sept. 17, 1974.
Additional examples of these types of playground apparatuses may be seen in the following additional U.S. Pat. Nos. considered with respect to the present invention.
______________________________________ U.S. Patent Number Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 1,566,765 A. Natale Dec. 22, 1925 2,130,438 P. H. Westerlund Sept. 20, 1938 2,198,947 E. V. Olson April 30, 1940 2,542,359 I. J. Rocklin Feb. 20, 1951 3,089,699 N. F. Flesch May 14, 1963 3,292,924 R. S. Wormser Dec. 20, 1966 et al 3,390,879 L. F. French July 2, 1968 3,675,919 R. L. Ewers July 11, 1972 ______________________________________
All of the teeter-totter or seesaw type of playground apparatuses known to applicant and exemplified in the above-identified U.S. Patents include an interconnection between each of the spaced-apart rocker arms forming part of the playground apparatuses such that movement of one rider will affect and control movement of the other rider, e.g. downward movement of one rider on one rocker arm causes upward movement of an oppositely disposed rider on an oppositely disposed rocker arm, etc. While this sort of ride or movement is desirable in some playground apparatuses of this type, it is undesirable in other uses of playground apparatuses of this type; particularly, when different sizes and weights of riders are involved inasmuch as the larger and heavier rider will in effect completely control the ride and movement of the smaller and lighter rider.